brownie

noun

1. (countable, usually)A small square piece of rich cake, usually made with chocolate.

   “Order for the brownie was placed but it took half an hour to prepare it.”

   “[…]if she ever found out she was dying, she'd just eat brownies all day and night until the very end.”

   “Rona served Althea coffee with yellow milk curdling in the center, and a hunk of brownie, and Althea said, “Thanks so much.””

   “On a Saturday afternoon, my wife bought her favorite treat for dessert that evening, a gourmet, nut-filled brownie.”

   “After cooking the brownies until we could smell the pot, we each ate a large brownie.”

2. (Australia, New-Zealand, uncountable)A sweet bread with brown sugar and currants.

   “It was an amusing sight to see the three of us, each with a huge hunch of “browny” (bread sweetened with brown sugar and currants) in one hand, and a lump of ice in the other, for there was no water within reach.”

   “They rode quietly along to the stockman’s hut, gave their message, rested their horses for half-an-hour, and had some tea without milk, and a piece of cake made of flour, fat, and sugar, commonly known as [“]browny.””

   “Four o’clock, “Smoke O!” again, and more tea and “brownie” (a bread sweetened with sugar and currants).”

   “Roast mutton and brownie are given us to eat, and with a billy of tea beside us we are comfortable enough, prisoners and all.”

   “Pile of “brownie” on the bare black boards at the end of the table.”

3. (countable, uncountable)A mythical creature, a helpful elf who would secretly do people's housework for them.

   “Thus, offer Brownie a piece of bread, a cup of drink, or a new coat and hood, and he flouted at it, and perhaps, in his huff, quitted the place for ever ; but leave a nice bowl of cream, and some fresh honeycomb, in a snug private corner, and they soon disappeared, though Brownie, it was to be supposed, never knew any thing of them.”

   “"Oh, auntie, do you know what Stine says?" cried a little brown-eyed beauty; "she says I shall go with her into the hayloft to-night and give the brownie his Christmas porridge."”

   “Stories were told of a brownie riding horseback to fetch the midwife at childbirth or helping his master to win at checkers.”

   “There are no brownies in my house, though. I know because there's always a pile of dishes in the sink.”

4. (countable, uncountable)A copper coin, brown in colour; a penny, halfpenny, or cent.

   “He rose and jingled in his pockets for change and drew out two brownies. He went and set one on each of Monroe’s eyes[.]”

5. (countable, uncountable)A household spirit or revered ancestor.
6. (countable, uncountable)Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the Eurasian genus Miletus.
7. (countable, informal, uncountable)A brown trout (Salmo trutta).
8. (countable, informal, uncountable)A widow rockfish (Sebastes entomelas), a fish in the family Sebastidae.

   “Depending upon the species, fishers may harvest along the ocean floor for many rockfish and other groundfish, while hake, pollock, and some rockfish species (i.e. greenies and brownies) are targeted with mid-water trawls.”

9. (alt-of, countable, uncountable)Alternative letter-case form of Brownie (“a girl in the first level of Girl Guides (US: Girl Scouts)”).
10. (Australia, New-Zealand, colloquial, countable, uncountable)A tall, long-necked beer bottle, made from brown coloured glass.
11. (countable, ethnic, offensive, slur, uncountable)A person with brown skin.
12. (Australia, British, Canada)A junior Girl Guide.

    “1958 July 14, Boot by a Brash Brownie, LIFE, page 124, In Toronto young Brownies of the Girl Guides, the Canadian girl scouts, stood in parade formation with full-fledged Guides.”

    “The ideal Brownie pack, according to the 1960 Guide Commissioner′s Handbook, would contain Brownies who were ‘alert, clean, tidy and punctual. Their uniform should be correct.’”

    “Another Guide group that persevered through internment was the 1st Chefoo (which had Brownies, Guides and Rangers) in Shandong province, China.[…]The November 2, 1942, entry in the Brownie logbook pleads for cheerfulness in the face of adversity: “We are in need of smiles. Have you got them ready, Brownies?””

13. (US)A junior Girl Scout.

    “Most marchers were children, Girl and Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and Brownies. One Cub Scout pulled his sister in a Radio Flyer decorated with small American flags. A Brownie pushed a baby carriage crammed with a zoo of stuffed animals.”

    “After all, the meetings were held at my own house and my own mother was the queen. Doesn′t that make me some sort of Brownie princess? Apparently not. As we graduated from Brownies to Girl Scouts, Mom was again my leader.”

name

1. A nickname of the surname Brown.